探花楼

Sept. 16, 2026 — DENTON — Traveling abroad brings many challenges, but for Texas Woman’s University student Alexa Norman, the biggest obstacle was convincing her parents that a solo trip to Italy was a good idea.

“They were definitely the ones that were the most scared and nervous,” Norman said. 

Norman was one of 150 students selected to attend the in August, hosted by the University of Trieste in Trieste, a city in northeastern Italy. The week-long professional development event pairs groups of international students with local companies for consulting project challenges alongside workshops and cultural events. 

Norman’s fierce determination eventually won over her parents. And, she is thankful she took the leap. 

“It's definitely one of the best experiences I've had in college,” Norman said. “It felt more real. We were doing real consulting work for companies and actually working with students from other countries.” 

Students were selected based on their performance from the X-Culture experiential learning projects offered in business classes. Mahesh (Michael) Raisinghani, a professor of management information systems in the Accounting and Finance Department at 探花楼’s Merrilee Alexander Kick College of Business and Entrepreneurship, has integrated the X-Culture project into his Management Information Systems, Project Management and Strategic Information Systems classes for over a decade.

Students are placed on global virtual teams and tasked with developing a business proposal for an actual company seeking to expand into a new market. Awards are presented to the top teams and every participant receives a performance evaluation and peer reviews. Positive feedback on Norman's project in Raisinghani’s class earned her an invitation to the symposium. 

“You can't teach international business just in your classroom,” Norman said. “You have to somehow get students to actually interact with people internationally. And I think that was a great way to actually put what we've been studying into practice.”

And, while she had to pay her own way, Norman believed it was worth it. She calculated the cost if she traveled on her own to Italy, and found the symposium to be a more affordable route.

During her week in Italy, Norman and her team worked on a challenge with a local fashion company. 

In the evenings, she met up with new friends for dinner and explored Trieste. Norman loved the architecture, the rocky beaches and even the public transportation. One of the highlights was visiting Miramare Castle, which she learned was built for Ferdinand Maximilian, the Austrian archduke who became emperor of the Second Mexican Empire. 

What she will remember the most is the conversations with other international students.

“Traveling itself brings a lot of perspective to the way you live and the way other people live their lives,” Norman said. “It's very eye-opening and more if you are traveling with people who are all from different places.”

Norman, who expects to graduate with a BBA in marketing in either December or May of 2027, thinks the biggest lesson from her time abroad is to take all the opportunities that you can. 

“I think a lot about that moment where I decided that I was going to go no matter what. And having gone really taught me it was the right decision. What if I had been too scared to go? I think that would have been one of my biggest regrets in life.”

Despite their initial worries, Norman's parents inspired her journey.

“My parents left everything they knew behind to move to a different country in search of a new opportunity,” Norman said.

Another inspiration for Norman is art. She is currently an apprentice at a tattoo company and her long-term goal is to open her own business. 

But for now, she is eyeing flights to Japan for the next symposium and planning a return trip to Europe with her new friends.